


After Mars

by Huntress8611



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Crying, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 12:58:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12771579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress8611/pseuds/Huntress8611





	After Mars

The moment that he entered the airlock on the Hermes and saw the rest of the crew on the other side, he felt the more relieved than he’d ever felt in his life. He was alive, the plan had worked. He wasn’t dead on Mars or floating through space, he was back on the Hermes with his crew, his _family._  Once the airlock had sealed, the crew entered and he removed his helmet for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Wow dude, you smell  _ripe_. You need a shower,” said Martinez before giving him a bear hug.

The others quickly joined until Mark was surrounded by his crew. Once they broke apart, Mark started to fall, not used to the Earth-like artificial gravity. Beck caught him and the crew quickly got him out of the heavy EVA suit, before Beck shooed them away, telling them to go back to work. 

“Alright, you’re coming with me, you don’t weigh nearly enough and I need to make sure you didn’t puncture a lung or something. People really aren’t supposed to go that fast without proper gear, you know,” said Beck, helping Watney stand, supporting most of his weight as they made their way to the Hermes sickbay.

Beck helped Watney lay down on a bed, shaking his head as he winced at every little movement. He grabbed a pair of scissors, cutting open Mark’s shirt. 

“Jesus Mark, you broke 3 ribs,” he said as he gently touched his chest, making sure there weren’t any other problems. 

What upset him the most was that he didn’t even need to feel for broken ribs, Mark was so skinny that he could just see them. He pulled the pillow out from under Mark’s head, making him hiss in pain. 

“Hey!” said Mark, “What was that for?” 

“You broke 3 ribs, you idiot, I have to set them, and for that, you need to be lying flat,” responded Chris, looking through drawers for a large ace bandage. 

“Well shit,” said Mark, breathing shallowly as to not aggravate his ribs as the adrenaline rush from ‘flying through space like Iron Man’ finally wore off.

Chris walked back over with the bandage and a syringe, setting the bandage on a nearby table before moving to stand next to the bed. He injected Mark with the syringe and said “That’s morphine. I have to set your ribs because they didn’t stay in place when they broke. Not going to lie, Mark, it’s still probably gonna hurt.” 

“Of course it will,” grumbled Mark, pretending not to care.

Beck quickly set all 3 ribs, one after the other. “Fucking  _shit_ ,” cursed Mark while Beck helped him sit up and wrapped the bandage tightly around his ribcage, who felt sick every time his friend flinched.

Beck helped him lay back down, replacing the pillow beneath his head before sitting down on the side of the bed. He ran his hand through Mark’s hair, and Mark leaned into it, having not been near another person in over a year. He continued until Mark fell asleep, and then got off of the bed and pulled up a chair to sit in.

A few hours later, Martinez walked into the sickbay, worried about his friends. He saw Beck, who had fallen asleep, holding Mark’s hand and smiled softly. He walked over to Beck and shook his shoulder. 

“Go sleep in your bed, buddy. I’ll stay with him,” he said quietly, not wanting to wake Mark. When it looked like Beck would protest, he said “I’ll get you if he needs you, go to sleep.” He watched Chris reluctantly leave before sitting in the chair, watching Mark.

About 15 minutes after he arrived, Mark started to talk quietly. “No, I can’t, this can’t happen, if they died I’m going to die, I can’t die,” he said, tone becoming more and more frantic. 

Realizing that Mark was having a nightmare, he stood up and grabbed Mark’s shoulder, keeping him still so he wouldn’t damage his ribs. “Mark, it’s just a dream, wake up. You’re back on the Hermes with us, you’re alive,” he said gently shaking his friend’s shoulder.

Mark’s eyes flew open, and Martinez held his shoulders down when he tried to sit up. “Hey, calm down,” he said, looking into Watney’s eyes, “You’re back on the Hermes with us, you’re okay.” 

Mark glanced around and began to tear up. Seeing this, Rick let go of his shoulders and sat on the edge of the bed, cradling his friends face. 

“Let it out, you’re safe now,” he said, not allowing Mark to break eye contact.

Rick leaned against the wall and carefully helped Mark sit up before pulling the man into a hug.

Mark grabbed his shirt, sagging into him, hiding his face in his shirt, tears leaving out of his eyes. He felt Martinez gently rub his back, holding him as he cried. When he was done, he let go and leaned against the wall. 

Rick looked at him and quietly said, “You’re not okay.” Mark made a noise that somewhat resembled a laugh, and looked at his friend. 

“You don’t say,” he replied sarcastically. 

Rick rolled his eyes, helping his friend lay back down. He got up and moved the chair closer to the top of the bed, before sitting down and grabbing Mark’s hand, rubbing the back with his thumb until they both fell asleep.

When Beck arrived in the morning, he woke up Martinez, asking if Mark slept okay. “He had a nightmare, but I got him to go back to sleep. I don’t think that we should leave him alone, especially not at night. That long without human contact is bad for anyone, but Mark thrived on contact,” he said sadly. 

“I know,” responded Beck, sighing, “He’s probably touch-starved, he’s having nightmares, he’s completely malnourished and underweight, and he’s probably got PTSD on top of all that. This isn’t going to be easy.” 

“I know, but we have to help him,” said Rick. Beck nodded. 

They agreed to take turns staying with Mark and kept with it until he was well enough to move around the ship.


End file.
